Drabbles Assemble
by Kessvon
Summary: A collection of short and sweet writings covering any characters, genres, pairings, and including scenes both from the movie and entirely made up. Features a special Tony/Bruce oneshot I wrote for the Avengers Kink Meme.


Loki watched, stunned beyond comparison, as the red-headed _wench _strolled out of the chamber he was confined to and left him reeling in the events that had just transpired.

"That," he mumbled to no one in particular, "did not go as planned."

* * *

Bruce wondered, at first, if this Tony Stark had a death wish when he quite literally prodded him with a sharp object and got up close to search his face for a response.

At least until he found himself smiling when the billionaire returned to his work and he realized that Tony _trusted_ him.

* * *

When Clint awoke with a pounding headache and feeling as though his brain had been thoroughly scrambled, he was a little alarmed that the first face he saw was Natasha's.

If the situation had been much less grim, he probably would have asked her if his restraints were some sort of kink of hers.

* * *

He had seen war from the trenches, the death of his comrades and loved ones, and had missed nearly a century's worth of events while encased in ice and awakening to a completely different world.

This time, however, Steve's mind was numb as he crossed the bridge of the helicarrier and slipped Nick Fury the ten dollars he very much owed the man.

* * *

There were few times that Tony had ever lost his cool and been so blinded by rage that he wanted nothing more than to strangle every last breath out of the offender.

As he snapped out a final, "His name was _Phil,_" to the slick-haired bastard standing across from him, he realized that this was one of those moments.

* * *

Thor was utterly fascinated by the humans' technology, despite seeing most of it being used for acts of violence and pathetically amusing pettiness.

He would immediately and _adamantly_ deny, though, that watching moving pictures of infant felines bestowed a remarkable feeling of happiness within him that he had not felt since his childhood.

* * *

To say Bruce was uncomfortable returning to the Stark Tower was a massive understatement, especially since he had been one of the reasons it would need so many repairs in the near future.

His anxiety was quickly put to rest as a red-headed woman wrapped her arms around him in a trembling embrace and cried, "Thank you for saving him."

* * *

As Loki reached the bladed end of his staff out toward Tony's chest with his lips pulled back into a devious smile, fear trickled down the man's spine like ice-cold water.

When the metal tip made a soft _tink _on impact and the smile fell from the demi-god's face, Tony wanted to laugh at the people who had often made the remark that he didn't have a heart, because them being only sort of right was poetically saving their asses.

* * *

If Tony ever heard anyone threaten Bruce or- god-forbid- call him a _monster,_ he would personally seek vengeance with sheer and extremely prejudiced brutality.

Maybe no one else would understand his connection to the doctor, but it wasn't even remotely close to being in his interests if they did or not. He knew what it was like to be trapped in that cold, dark and goddamned _lonely_ place, and he knew the bitter taste of metal on the barrel of a pistol. He refused to allow Bruce to remain in the same darkness he had spent several years calling home, not when he saw so much untouched _potential_ in him that Bruce could not find alone.

* * *

There existed some things that anchored Steve to the present, even if in all reality they had the durability of a thread and could not always be trusted. He knew music and celebrities and sports, yes, but it was all so different than he remembered and he frequently wondered if he would ever be able to catch up with the deceiving forms of media the country thrived in.

The process became easier after watching countless war documentaries in the comforting solitude of his apartment, and then promptly deciding to make regular visits to the airport to meet returning soldiers, who all bore the same weight on their shoulders and utmost respect for each other that he had seen in the men during his own campaign.

* * *

"I hate you so much," Pepper would growl as she cupped Tony's face in her hands and kissed him hard on the mouth, relishing the familiar feeling of his goatee scraping against her skin.

"No you don't," he would reply with a smug smile as he pulled away for a quick breath and to admire the fire in her eyes, "everybody loves me. I'm just that amazing," and then he would kiss her again.

* * *

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip." Just as the words fell from Steve's mouth, a heavy and painful feeling of guilt washed over him and churned his stomach.

Here he had accused Tony, to his face even, of being horribly selfish and only fighting for himself, going to far as to tell the man to stop calling himself a hero while he simply stood there and took it. If Steve had known at that time that the one who he had so grossly misjudged was going to sacrifice his life to save Manhattan, he would have never dared to say such things. Even if his throat was closed too tightly and his tongue too twisted to apologize and tell Stark that he was doing something incredible, before he disappeared through the tear in space, Steve had a feeling he wouldn't respond well to it anyway. Real heroes didn't need that sort of acknowledgment or praise of their sacrifice, and Steve knew for a fact that Tony wouldn't either.

* * *

Bruce isn't sure he should ask, especially when there are other Avengers lurking in the room, but the question slips out before he can stop it. "Why are you so nice to me?"

Maybe nobody else noticed it, maybe Tony didn't even notice it himself, but Bruce certainly noticed when the billionaire froze up for the smallest fraction of a second before shrugging nonchalantly and shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"It brings me _great_ joy to prove Fury wrong on several occasions." Tony has a feeling his excuse doesn't fly, even if it _is_ true, because out of the corner of his eye he sees Bruce purse his lips and force himself to look downward in feigned interest at his work. He isn't about to tell the Big Guy that he sees so much of himself in him that it frightens him.

* * *

Of all of the Avengers, the one Bruce sincerely least expected to be so helpless and entirely vulnerable was Tony.

He is angry, yes, seeing the man down on the floor and sickly pale and barely clinging to life, but he's so much _more_ than just enraged. He hasn't felt such a sharp yank at his heart since Betty, and it's a feeling he recognizes immediately as he's hunched over the dying billionaire, whose breathing becomes more and more labored as the seconds pass. Bruce is _scared._

He isn't entirely sure what happens around him- the Captain barks out orders and there's thundering footsteps and someone puts their hand on his shoulder, but Bruce doesn't so much as twitch at the contact. His entire attention is on Tony, on the hole in his chest where the arc reactor should be. He's seen it in detail a few times before, once when he had asked out of pure scientific curiosity and another when he was certain Tony had removed his shirt to show off to him. He was both surprised at the straight-forwardness of the man's flirting toward him as well as he was surprised at himself for _enjoying_ it.

But this is so much different; Tony's life is hanging in the balance and Bruce needs to focus. He needs to have a spare reactor, figure out the proper wiring with no prior experience, and most importantly of all, keep Tony alive long enough for the new arc reactor to even be of use.

"I can do it," he says to whoever is still left and not rushing off to the Stark Tower. "I can do it," and he knows he can. Anger is a powerful motivator, but his fear at his only real friend- and maybe even more than friend- slipping away is pushing him beyond simple motivation. There is no _other guy_ to save the day. This one is all Bruce, and Bruce would be damned if he wasn't going to pull this man out of the grip of death itself so he can tell him he's terrified to lose him.


End file.
